During his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), the president spoke about Philippines’ tumultuous year which was marred by an onslaught from terrorists who held the city of Marawi hostage for nearly three months.

In the two-hour speech, Duterte rambled for much applause for his achievements which include a “bloody” war on drugs; he went further, rambling to instill hope and confidence in his listeners.

“I believed then, as I believe still, that progress and development will sputter if criminals, and illegal users of drugs, are allowed to roam the streets freely, victimizing with seeming impunity the innocent and the helpless…,” he stated in the nationwide address.

“The fight will be unrelenting as it will be unrelenting… Despite international and local pressures, the fight will not stop until those who deal in it understand that they have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell.

“I do not intend to preside over the destruction of the Filipino youth by being timid and tentative in my decisions and actions…,” he added.

The 72-year-old leader continued: “There’s a jungle out there. There are beasts and vultures preying on the helpless, the innocent and the unsuspecting.

“I will not allow the ruin of the youth, the disintegration of families and the retrogression of communities, forced by criminals whose greed for money is as insatiable as it is devoid of moral purpose. Neither will I be immobilized into inaction by the fear that I will commit an act that will expose me to public condemnation or legal prosecution.

“You have the children in whose hands the future of the Republic is entrusted, and I will hound you to the very gates of hell.”